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The idea was that China's regime, given a stake in the existing system, would then defend it... By now, however, that bet looks like a mistake history will remember. For as the Communist Party grew stronger, it did not align itself with its Western supporters. On the contrary, it came to believe it could avenge centuries-old grievances and remake the world in its own image. The West's generous approach created the one thing it had hoped to avoid: an aggressive state redrawing its borders by force, attacking liberal values around the world, and undermining institutions at the heart of the...

...The cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission was about US$75 million, which, as John pointed out, is less than the cost of the Barbie movie. If you want to be nitpicky, you might quibble that that doesn't include the cost of the first two less successful Chandrayaan space missions. Okay, total expenditures on the Indian space programme since 2003 are approx $140 million - which is still less than the Barbie movie. Okay, I don't want to beat up on Barbie, because, as you know, our friend Andrew Lawton is a huge fan. So let's use instead the cinematic example the...

As humans here on planet Earth delighted themselves with the sight of the rare ‘super blue moon’ in the skies, the Indian Lunar Mission continued with the scientific experiments on the Moon’s South Pole. The Chandrayaan-3 mission now is divided between the Vikram Lander and the Pragyan Rover, each with a different task. The rover is circling around the touchdown area, analyzing the chemical elements present on the dusty surface of the moon, as it searches ice-water that would greatly benefit future human exploration in the area. Meanwhile, the lander and its probes record seismic activity on the satellite’s surface,...

1 of 4 | The last blue moon rises behind One World Trade Center and the Manhattan skyline shorty after sunset on October 31, 2020. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo The last full moon of summer will be the best of the entire season as stargazers witness a rare celestial sight -- one that hasn't been seen in nearly three years. A blue moon will appear Wednesday night with moonlight so bright that it may cast shadows. Despite its nickname, the moon will not emit a blue glow. Instead, the nickname means that it is the second...

BENGALURU — After claiming to have landed near the south pole of the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) released what they claim is the first photo taken by their lunar lander. Unfortunately, several critics have called the authenticity of the photo into question as it features Bollywood dancers, an astronaut on a tiger, and a man riding a rocket narrowly escaping an explosion as he backflips onto the lunar surface.

BENGALURU — After claiming to have landed near the south pole of the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) released what they claim is the first photo taken by their lunar lander. Unfortunately, several critics have called the authenticity of the photo into question as it features Bollywood dancers, an astronaut on a tiger, and a man riding a rocket narrowly escaping an explosion as he backflips onto the lunar surface. "Hmmmm, If I didn't know better, I'd say this photo was elaborately staged by a Bollywood film crew," said NASA engineer Ron McNeebles. "I'm not a zoologist, but...

India made history on Wednesday after their Chandrayaan-3 mission landed safely on the moon’s south pole, cementing itself as the first nation to successfully touch down on the largely unexplored region of the lunar surface. “All the people of the world, the people of every country and region: India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone,” said India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reiterating that “this success belongs to all of humanity.” But even with Modi’s broad, pseudo-inspirational attribution, not everyone was excited to take credit for the scientific feat — namely, the conspiracy theorists of Reddit who were irked...

Stanley Kubrick is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Of his 13 movies a few are considered classics in their respective genres. Including the black comedy Dr. Strangelove, the highly-quoteable anti-war commentary of Full Metal Jacket, and one of the most disturbing horror films of all time, The Shining.But in 1968, Kubrick released "2001 - A Space Odyssey". This is more than a classic. It's a masterpiece. And widely regarded as one of the best science-fiction films of all time, and probably the most influential.This collaboration with science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke tells the story of...

India just became part of an exclusive club. With the successful touchdown of its Vikram lander today, it is now just the 4th nation to soft-land a spacecraft on the moon.This is a massive moment for India – and it bumps them up the space superpower list.Landing on the Moon is far from easy – as Russia’s attempt this week highlighted – and many missions have failed, including India’s first attempt.But it was second time lucky, and India now joins three other nations – the US, the former Soviet Union and China – who’ve successfully touched down on the lunar...

Chandrayaan-3, the latest iteration of India’s ambitious mission to the moon, has successfully landed on the lunar surface — making history after its predecessor failed in 2019. The landing, which took place at the targeted time of 5:34am PT (6:04pm IST) on Wednesday over a month after the spacecraft’s launch, has made India the fourth nation globally to make a soft landing on the moon, after the former Soviet Union, the U.S. and China, and the first country to land on the lunar south pole, which remains an unexplored area that is anticipated to aid in the understanding of the...

Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Landing Coverage LIVE! This site goes live in 40 minutes

This is live coverage, in English, of the Indian moon landing scheduled within the hour. If successful it will be the first touchdown on the Lunar South Pole.

Chandrayaan-3 has made a successful touchdown on the moon! This story is developing.

BENGALURU, Aug 23 (Reuters) - An Indian spacecraft landed on the moon on Wednesday, the space agency said, in a mission seen as crucial to lunar exploration and India's standing as a space power, just days after a similar Russian lander crashed. For India, the successful landing marks its emergence as a space power as the government looks to spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.

Russia’s first lunar mission in nearly half a century came to a violent end when its unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the moon after encountering a problem when it began preparing for pre-landing orbit. Russian officials had hoped the prestige mission would show they can still compete in space despite their post-Soviet decline and the extreme loss suffered in the Ukraine war. Its failure highlighted the intense decline of Russia’s authority over space since the days of the Cold War, when Moscow was the first to launch a satellite — Sputnik 1 — to orbit...

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. The Luna-25 automatic lunar station, according to unconfirmed data, has been destroyed after colliding with the Moon’s surface, Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos told journalists on Sunday. The agency recalled that on August 19 that the lunar probe was scheduled to receive propulsion thrust to descend into its landing trajectory on the Moon's elliptical orbit. "At about 2:57 p.m. Decree time, the connection with the Luna-25 automatic lunar probe was lost," according to Roscosmos.

The first Russian spacecraft meant to land on the moon in nearly 50 years failed to enter its pre-landing orbit of the moon Saturday, according to Roscosmos, the Russian state space corporation. In a statement, the corporation said that an “abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the manoeuvre to be performed with the specified parameters.” The spacecraft, Luna-25, was expected to land on the moon on Monday, and it is unclear now whether it will stick to that schedule. Roscosmos said the team was investigating the situation but did not give further details. It...

Russia's first moon mission in nearly half a century may be in serious trouble. The Luna-25 spacecraft was supposed to maneuver itself into its final pre-landing orbit around the moon today (Aug. 19), ahead of a touchdown attempt on Monday (Aug. 21) or thereabouts. But the probe encountered a problem during the engine burn. "During the operation, an emergency situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters," Russia's space agency Roscosmos wrote in an update on Telegram today (in Russian; translation by Google). "The management team is currently...

Russia's first moon mission in 47 years failed after its Luna-25 space craft spun out of control and smashed into moon. Russia's state space corporation, Roskosmos, said it had lost contact with the craft shortly after a problem occurred as the craft was shunted into pre-landing orbit on Saturday. 'The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon,' Roskosmos said in a statement. Moscow had earlier reported an 'abnormal situation' with the craft. 'During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which...

The space race was still a thing when I was a kid but it hasn’t been for much of the last 45 years. But that’s starting to change as Russia, India, China and the US all gear up for various missions to the moon. In fact, both Russia and India have lunar landers touching down next week. Russia’s Luna-25 lander could touch down as soon as Monday, August 21. It’s the country’s first lunar mission in nearly half a century, and the first in the post-Soviet era. Two days later, on August 23, Chandrayaan-3 could become India’s first successful lunar...